Marshwood second-half rally comes up short

Wednesday

May 21, 2014 at 3:15 AM

By Nick Stoiconstoico@fosters.com

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — For Hannah Folger and the Marshwood High School girls lacrosse team, maintaining focus is a key ingredient for success on the field. Unfortunately, the Hawks were unable to find their focus until about 17 minutes into the first half of their game against Scarborough on Tuesday.

Despite outscoring the Red Storm in the second half, the damage done in the first was too much for Marshwood to overcome as it fell 13-11 to Scarborough in Western Maine Class A. The win moved Scarborough to 5-3 and Marshwood fell to 6-2.

“We came out flat and a little slow,” said Folger, a senior midfielder who scored two goals and added three assists . “We weren’t as intense as we could have been, but when we play our game, I think we’re awesome.”

Scarborough led 9-3 at halftime.

Marshwood’s Korinne Bohunsky opened the half with a goal just 17 seconds in to the second half, but Scarborough answered back with the three quick goals from Emma Smith, Kaitlin Prince (five goals), and Abby Corbin.

Down 12-4, Marshwood kicked up its offense and went on a 7-1 scoring run, but this push ultimately came to an end at the final whistle.

“You can’t take the first five or 10 minutes off,” said Marshwood head coach Bernie Marvin. “But as there is negative stuff to take away from the first half, there’s a lot of positive stuff to take away from the second half.”

The offensive surge — 8-4 in the second half — for the Hawks started with junior midfielder Finn Collins scoring on an assist by Folger with 16:25 left in the game. Hannah Costin picked up a goal 50 seconds later to bring Marshwood within six, 12-6.

After Marvin called a timeout, Lindsey Poirier (three goals, assist) scored with a low shot by Scarborough goaltender Regan Mars’ legs. Freshman Annalise Poirier followed with a goal at 11:44 and the lead was four, 12-8.

“We took care of the ball better in the second half and I was just trying to keep the kids a little looser,” said Marvin. “We’ve come back from behind several times and won, this time we didn’t. The effort in the second half I think we can be positive (about).”

Scarborough scored its 13th and final goal with 9:51 left in regulation. Marvin called timeout with his team down 13-8 and Bohunsky scored exactly one minute after play resumed. Two minutes later, Scarborough missed two scoring chances with one going off the post and another stopped with stellar save by Marshwood goaltender Emily Kahler.

With 4:35 remaining, Marshwood’s Costin received a pass at midfield and carried the ball all the way into the offensive zone until she was on the doorstep of the crease before firing a shot past Mars.

With Marshwood rallying back, Scarborough tried to manage the clock effectively when it had posession.

“Each time you get that ball, you should be thinking take two or three minutes off the clock and wait for your shot,” said Scarborough head coach Marcia Wood. “When (Marshwood) called that timeout with (9:51) left, I said this could be a three more posession game if you guys could win the draw and be smart with it.”

Marshwood put its last tally on the board with a goal from Folger with 1:14 remaining. Scarborough spent the final minute with possession and let clock wind down.

“We knew this was going to be a big week,” said Wood, whose team hosts league-leading Massabesic Thursday. “We have to go upset some higher teams and it started today.”

Marshwood struggled with 21 turnovers, 15 in the first half alone.

“Getting a shot off, picking up the ball if we drop it; those kinds of things can make all the difference,” Folger said. “That was kind of the key.”

Scarborough flew out of the gates to start the game, scoring five unanswered goals within the first 15:07 of regulation. Marshwood started to claw back before halftime with a goal from Folger and two from Lindsey Poirier to bring the score to 7-3. This revival was short-lived as Scarborough answered right back with two goals to end the half.

Marshwood will host Cheverus (No. 3 in the East standings) on Thursday.

“I don’t think we are ever going to come out that slow again,” Folger said. “That was a lesson.”